A do-it-yourself guide for getting rid of just about anything.

Best Ways to Get Rid of Crows

Modified on July 17, 2016

I’ve worked in a backyard bird feeding store for several years. The three most common things people ask me are how to get rid of squirrels, how to get rid of raccoons, and how to get rid of crows. The first two are actually pretty easy. Getting rid of crows, on the other hand, is a little trickier. The problem is that crows are so friggin’ clever. Smarter, actually, than a good share of the people I know. Prettier too. I know this doesn’t seem to speak too highly of those folks (contributers to this website excluded, of course), but darn: numerous studies have been conducted with crows, and these birds have shown the mental capacity to solve problems and even use tools.

So yeah, crows are impressively smart and crafty little devils. So what? Well, the smarter they are, the harder they fall. Especially if there’s food involved (which is oftentimes the reason they’re hanging around your yard.) They also happen to be very persistent and extraordinarily stubborn. Keeping this in mind, the best thing you can do to get rid of crows is to be even more persistent and more stubborn than they are. It’s the only way you’ll win. So read this article, buckle down, and start a stiff bird control strategy against crows.

Best Methods for Crow Control

Remove any food/water sources. As mentioned above, if you have crows hanging around your place, there’s a pretty good chance they’re there because you (inadvertently) lured them there with food. Remove all things that crows might find edible. This includes bird feeders/baths and dog and cat kibble and water dishes. You will also need to make sure to put all trash in tight-lidded trash bins. Crows can and do tear open plastic garbage bags. Unfortunately, they like compost too. Either cover it somehow or bury edible items under grass and leaf clippings. Keep an eye on what it is they’re eating; you may even need to cut down berry bushes and fruit trees.

Make loud and scary noises. Make the crow or crows return your sentiment of dislike. Every time you see them out there, make a racket and direct it towards them. Get out there and start yelling obscenities. Yeah, your neighbors will probably start thinking you’re a whack job, but who cares. Along with your yelling, clap your hands, bang pots and pans together, or set off fireworks. Above all, be consistent. Do it every darn time you see them, or it won’t work.

Set out devices designed to scare crows off. The most common of these, of course, is the scarecrow. I know it sounds dumb, but it works. Buy one or make your own and dress him in bright colors. Other good scary devices include fake owls and fake snakes. Some people even make their own crow deterrents by stringing up aluminum pie tins or blank CDs to flutter in the wind. Also, most bird and garden stores carry Scare Tape. This is nothing more than a spool of reflective ribbon that hangs and dances in the breeze.

Switch up your scare tactics. I simply cannot stress this enough. Crows are extremely smart. If you attempt to use just one of the bird pest control methods mentioned above, the crows plaguing your yard will quickly get used to your feeble attempts and realize that they are not in any real danger. The best thing you can do is to use as many tactics as you can. Don’t use them all at once, though. Use a couple different methods for a few days, remove them, and do something different. Switch things around and pick different locations. I know it sounds like a pain in the butt, and it is, but it’s better than waking up to crow-cawing every morning for the rest of your life.

Blow ’em away. Killing crows should always be left as an extreme last resort. While I do not condone this method, sometimes you do what you gotta do. Crows can be destructive. They’ll peck at things, poop all over the place, and sometimes even eat your garden. Crow hunting is legal in most states, and if it’s not the proper season but you can prove they are causing damage to your property, you can sometimes even get a special permit to kill crows. Just make sure to know the laws in your region. As far as the authorities are concerned, ignorance is not an excuse.

Crow Deterrents & Crow Repellents

Aside from the basic and relatively inexpensive things you can do for bird control, there are a number of products on the market that are designed to deter, repel, or remove crows completely. Granted, some of them are a little more costly, but if customer reviews are to be believed, they are well worth it. The following is just a small sample of a few of the most highly recommended of these.

Ultrasonic crow repellent. These systems are designed for outdoor, year-round use and use ultrasonic (you can’t hear them) sound waves to annoy, repel, and frighten a wide variety of birds, including crows. Look for Ultrason X. Sounds like a murder-robot, but actually isn’t. We’d recommend the Yard Sentinel Ultrasonic Repeller, sold by Amazon, should you go this route.

Bird netting. Bird netting is fantastic for folks who have issues with crows eating their gardens or berry bushes. It’s nothing fancy, but it works wonders. It’s easy to install (stakes and staples), is quite strong, and will last you many seasons.

Bird Xpeller Pro. This handy little crow deterrent works through the use of recorded distress signals. When crows hear the distress signals (actual recordings) they get the idea that your yard is an uninviting and unsafe place to hang.

Bird spikes, also known as mechanical perch repellents or roost stoppers, are stainless steel or polycarbonate rows of spikes that can be affixed to surfaces where crows have a habit of roosting. It doesn’t hurt the birds; it just makes it nearly impossible for them to sit in places where the spikes have been attached. You can get bird spikes from Bird-X at Amazon if you choose to go this route.

Crow traps. A crow trap can either be purchased or made at home. If you want to make your own, just Google “homemade crow trap” or some variation on the theme. You’ll find what you’re looking for. There really isn’t much to say about crow traps. They’re traps. They catch crows.

Further Crow Repellent/Deterrent Suggestions

CROW be GONE. This is a CD that uses natural nature sounds to deter crows. Apparently it works quite well. I’ve not used it myself but have run across a ton of happy user reviews. It’s only $19.95 and has a 30-day money back guarantee. What’s there to lose?

Purple martins. Crows and purple martins are not friends. Because crows have a nasty habit of eating eggs and nestlings, purple martins have developed a habit of banding together and chasing crows out of the vicinity of their homes. So, put up a purple martin house. Not only will they repel crows, they’re also very pretty birds.

Scarecrow. No, I’m not talking about that stuffy little douche from the Wizard of Oz (see above). I’m talking about a fantastic little motion-sensing sprinkler. This will deter crows and repel crows by spraying them with a jet of water. Works great for the crows hanging out in your garden, by your compost, or in your bushes.

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COMMENTS

I live in Escondido Ca. and you probably will not believe this but there are no less than 2000 crows flying in my backyard. My friends that I have sent pictures to think I live in Bodega Bay (The Birds). They use to fly away when I went in the backyard, now most do, but some just stay there and look at me, which is a weird feeling, I am going to try the CD and see what happens. We can not discharge a gun around here as it is a residential neighborhood.
Wish me luck

November 1, 2016 at 7:03 pm

Betsy Fabersays:

Hello,

You can try inexpensive scare tactics like hanging up cds that will shimmer and sparkle or reflective tape. Make sure to vary your tactics but if you can use cheap and inexpensive things to scare them away.

November 1, 2016 at 4:08 am

S.L.Chowdhurysays:

Crows are damagingy my split AC installed on the rooftop by making hole in it .please suggest me an inexpensive method to get rid of them.

October 16, 2016 at 2:51 pm

Logansays:

Errol,
Crows are some of the most fascinating birds on the planet. They are very smart and have great memories. Some studies have shown that they can actually recognize people by their facial features.

September 16, 2016 at 10:37 pm

Errolsays:

We have 2 really loud pesty crows, I played some hawk noises through outside speakers. The crows flew away THEN came back with around 12 more crows and started swooping around our house looking for the predator hawk. Stunned to see crows have a pack mentality when threatened.
The crows are on Gold Coast Australia, much louder than the Japanese crows.

Ponraj, they’re probably protecting eggs/babies in their nests. Stop feeding them, for starters. Other than that, try some of the tips mentioned in the article above. Do you live within city limits?

July 24, 2016 at 7:04 am

Ponrajsays:

Hi. I am living in balcony of a tall building where trees are nearby. I had big problem with crows during nesting period. Eventhough I feed crows regularly, they are not able to differentiate me from others. They are attacking me & flying over my head when I get out of house. Please suggest to get rid of crows.
Really it is annoying..

Gene, do a Google search for “crow be gone cd”. It should be the first result.

July 5, 2016 at 4:23 am

noblesays:

hi i touched a baby crow, which was fallen down, my aim was is to rescue it , but the next day , the two crows are following me and attacks back of head. is there anything to do . Please help me out from this

Cat, I’m having a hard time understanding what the perch is. Is it just a board that sticks out? Does it serve a function? Is it simply for aesthetics? Can you remove it?

June 27, 2016 at 2:21 am

Swensays:

Shoot just one of them, and hang it on your roof. I have a tv antena on my roof that I use. If you don’t have anything to hang it from, then just throw it up there. You will be marked as a murderer by every crow around, and they will avoid your neighborhood like it a radioactive zone. I live between 2 very religious people that were totally against it the first few days. When I explained my goal, and asked them if they’ve been bothered since, they replied “actually now that I think about it, it’s been a few days since they’ve woken me up”. Your house will be safe for a couple years, even after the dead crow is gone.

June 25, 2016 at 8:42 pm

Catsays:

I have this like perfect perch wooden thing affixed to my house not sure but it sticks out and is like the highest pt. on my second story and a couple of years ago I was going to stick up a plastic owl that I got at Walmart bECAUSE of the white poop smattered down from this fixture onto the side of the house as this perch is directly on top of the side of the house and planks out. Well last week I noticed that it is half of what it use to be seems they pecked it and these are Ravens not crows. I am just worried about the market value of the home; I think it is funny and I like Ravens but the market value is diminshed now and I was planning on selling it withint a couple of years. I don’t even know where to begin. What is the best deterent before it is completely demolished(keep in mind these are Ravens even smarter than Crows!)

kathy, sounds to me like the crow is seeing its reflection in windows, and thinking the reflection is a rival crow. I would cover the windows from the outside and leave them covered for a few days. Get your neighbors to do the same. Should get him to go away.

June 13, 2016 at 11:26 am

kathy joslinsays:

Please someone help!!!!
There is a single crow that is hanging around my trailer. There isnt any food, garbage or items to attract it. It walks along the deck next to my trailer then jumps on the windows, pecks, flaps wings,and spits. He then flys 10 feet over to the next trailer to land at base of sliding door and will “caw” and peck. He then jumps over to that deck and makes way to my windows again. It flys away briefly but this happens on and off all day……since last sunday…..and every am before 5.
Its freaking me out, I bought a big plastic owl yesterday and had peace until 5:30 this morning and it happened again.
Some one please help me, I do not want to kill it but what do I do?
Kathy in Lakefield, Ontario

Sandy, if you can get up there, scare tape might help, but bird spikes should do the trick. Are they just hanging out at the roof peaks?

June 7, 2016 at 7:42 pm

Sandysays:

We have a ton of crows flying around our roof and they seem to be pecking it and I am afraid the concrete slate will break. The issue I have is that it is a 3 story house and very difficult to access the roof. Any ideas? Would some of these ideas work if I was able to get to the roof?

Harsh, have you tried hanging cds? Pie tins? Anything else that might flutter in the wind? Maybe try playing some talk/news radio out there? Did you look for bird netting to go over your plants? What did you look for? There are so many options I have a hard time believing you couldn’t find any of them.

Patricia, that’s really unusual behavior for them. Is it possible there’s something drawing them up there? Carpenter ants maybe? Also, do you live in town or in the country?

May 2, 2016 at 12:36 am

Harsh neemasays:

I live in a multi storey building. I have 5-6 potted plants in balcony. We try to scare them everyday but in 10-15 min They come back. So any better way to get rid of those crows without disturbing and scaring neighbours. I didnt find the products u suggested in india .

April 30, 2016 at 7:31 pm

Patriciasays:

Crows are pecking holes into our chimney. We had the siding replaced three years ago because of all the holes and within a few month they were back. How do we stop them? This is getting real expensive.

My Uncle (76) says he remembers as a boy his grand mother, my great grand mother, in WV cutting some hairs off the mane of one of her horses, then threading pieces of horse hair throw kernels of dry corn, then placing the corn on fence posts across the field.. he remembers the crows eating the corn then a short time late start scratching at their neck with their own claws.. it didn’t take long and the crows had killed themselves by basically tearing out their own throats. I don’t know if it is true but he swears he saw it happen..

October 19, 2015 at 1:21 pm

Crows Sucksays:

Kill one and hang it from a tree. They’ll get the message. Don’t get caught though because for some reason these disgusting vile birds are protected by the federal government.

Ian, as far as I know, there are no effective taste deterrents. However, what have you got to lose in trying some different things? The garlic might be worth a shot. I’ve seen liquified garlic in pet shops as an additive for fish tanks. Might be worth a try. Otherwise, maybe you can figure out a way to diffuse it into some vegetable oil. If the the seeds would grow after being dunked in diesel, I doubt the veg oil would cause them any problems.

Also, you said watering is impractical, but have you considered the Scarecrow? I mention it above and it’s a motion activated sprayer that only goes on when something triggers it. Seems to me like a few of these spread around might solve your problem.

July 29, 2015 at 5:52 am

ian nelsonsays:

I’m a commercial grower of ornamental plants in the UK. as well as making millions of container plants I have some field growing as well.
One problem I have with crows is them going on to the seedbeds & digging out seeds of Oak & Beech in particular. Tried some physical barriers (nettings etc) & gas guns & scarecrows but they will work together to get at the seeds through the nettings & they soon ignore noise or scare tactics. Watering is impractical for the length of time they hang around.
I am thinking is there some taste or smell that discourages. Years ago growers used to soak seed in diesel but this is poisonous to the land & a pollutant. Does anybody know whether the crow finds garlic distasteful as there is a way to spray liquid garlic or could sow wild garlic at the crop perimeters.
I cant find an answer to this question.
Does anybody have any other deterrents for crows that they’re aware of??
any advice appreciated
ian

Have you seen anything around that may be attracting them? Carcasses? Pet food? Bird food? Koi pond? Water feature? Has there been any construction in the neighborhood of late that may have chased them away from their old stomping grounds?

July 9, 2015 at 5:56 pm

Debbysays:

Hi,

In the past week we have as any as three dozen or more crows in our yard and sitting on the roof of our house. Not sure what is happening, lived here over 22 yrs. and nothing like this? Any suggestions?

Kat, there’s not really a good way to get rid of the crows without getting rid of the others. What are you feeding them? My best suggestion would be to stop feeding until all of the birds, crows included, forget about you. After a couple weeks of no crows, try feeding again. It may take awhile to get your other birds back, but they will find you. I promise. And hopefully the crows will have found greener pastures by then.

And don’t worry about they jays. They are a little more aggressive than the other birds, but not to the extent that Skye mentions. Those birds were either killed by something else, or ill to begin with. Jays are beautiful, sociable. and charismatic feeder birds.

July 5, 2015 at 2:32 pm

Skyesays:

Kat Frank, watch out for blue jays. They are the meanest bird around. They will kill songbirds by pecking them to death. They will even stab, kill and then not eat a praying mantis. They are mean, nasty killers. I had to stop feeding birds because of the jays. I’d find several dead birds in my yard daily.

July 2, 2015 at 1:24 pm

Kat Franksays:

Is there a way to get rid of just the crows without scaring off my other pretty birds such as woodpeckers, cardinals, bluejays, mocking birds, songbirds. The crows have recently found their way to my yard and they are aggressive and down right bullies towards the other birds. I just want the crows to get lost and leave my other little bird friends alone. Any hope? I read some of the devices used to get rid of crows, but will they also scare away my other birds?

Hi: I use your CD for crows, and I swear by its success. You have to play it every day for results, and yes, they do keep their distance by about 75 yards or so. Now I have a raccoon problem, and I know I’m not alone there. Other than chemical, is there a device which work by a sensor at night, which will scare raccoons away from my ponds. They get into the ponds, (no fish) and destroy the plant life by rummaging through the shallow water, even though I have learned which plants they will not eat. Someone told me there is such a device which emits a chattering noise which does the job.
Please email me, if you can.
Thanks,
Hal Werner

Good luck Carol! Let us know how the snakes go! Question: Do they only do this to you in the spring?

April 11, 2015 at 9:09 am

Carolsays:

Hi, We have used rubber snakes on our cars, yes, our cars to keep the crows away. They have ruined more that one rubber seal around the sunroof. I am also having a problem with them pecking at the rubber seal in between our plate glass windows at work. Am going to try snakes there as well, only hope they don’t scare away our customers.

Sue, I actually monitor the comments very, very closely. I just don’t feel the need to edit the spelling, grammar, and punctuation of others. Also, I don’t pick and choose what gets posted as long as the comments are respectful. It’s OK for people to have opinions that differ from our own.

Regardless, thank you for your input. I’m glad the cd worked well for you and I hope others benefit from your comments.

Eric

October 8, 2014 at 3:08 pm

Sue Cooksays:

Eric
Send those people an email and crowbegone@yahoo.com and I think they would send you one of their cd’s and no charge for you to review. The proof is in the pudding so to speak. You do want to post the truth, right.
Sue

October 8, 2014 at 3:06 pm

Sue Cooksays:

Hey Eric – I used the Crow be Gone cd and it worked very well for me. Yet one of your posters (franchinellu) says it’s a waste of time and money. I really don’t think he even bought the cd because they have a guaranteed money back offer. You should vet your feedback a little more closely and their spelling error’s. Here in Florida the crow be gone cd worked amazingly well and I’m on the other side of the fence from your franchinellu commentor.
Thank you
Sue Cook

Purple martins can be found across the Eastern half of the U.S. as well as along the west/southwest coast. A quick Google search for “purple martin range map” can give you clearer picture. Up here in the north, as they are primarily insect eaters, we only see them in the spring and summer when it’s warm enough to support insect populations.